The present invention relates, in general, to measuring tools and, more particularly, to measuring tools used to check the correct assembled position of vehicle components.
Many articles of manufacture are formed as an assembly of a number of individual components. The larger the number of components required for a particular article in manufacture, the greater the complexity of the assembly operation and the higher the possibility of assembly errors.
To insure quality of assembly and reliability in long term use of a particular article, particularly an automotive vehicle where quality assembly is essential to safe operation of the vehicle, checking or measuring tools have been developed to check the proper assembled position of various components relative to each other or to an established reference value, such as a reference dimension.
In an automotive vehicle, the steering column, which carries the steering wheel, is connected during vehicle assembly to an intermediate steering shaft which is coupled to the wheel steering linkage. To insure proper vehicle steering operation, it is essential that the two steering column shafts be connected in the proper dimensional relationship.
It is possible during automotive vehicle assembly, where each work station has only a limited amount of time to complete an assembly operation, for the steering column shaft and the intermediate shaft to not be connected at all or for the two shafts to be connected, but not fully interconnected into the proper dimensional relationship.
As the interconnection position of the steering shaft and the intermediate shaft is located within the vehicle compartment underneath the instrument panel, it is difficult for an operator to easily ascertain that the two shafts are connected or to easily determine that the two shafts are fully interconnected in a proper dimensional relationship.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a vehicle steering shaft checking tool which provides easy operation and which can determine that a vehicle steering column shaft and steering intermediate shaft are fully interconnected in the proper dimensional relationship.